Pokémon Nuzlocke: Dark after Dawn
by ritualrope
Summary: The most interesting thing that had happend to Lucas and his completely isolated village was when his best friend dissapeared. Nobody knew anything more of the war that broke out 21 years ago, but a cry for help from a neighboring village turns his life around.
1. Chapter 1: Lucas and the Letter

_Thought I should put the nuzlocke rules at the start of this chapter, just for those readers who wouldn't know why half of the things that happen in this happen._

Any Pokémon that faints is considered dead, and must be released or put in the PC permanently.

I may only catch the first Pokémon encountered in each area, and none else. If the first Pokémon encountered faints or flees, there are no second chances.

While not exactly a definite rule, the general consensus is that players must also nickname all of their Pokémon, for the sake of forming stronger emotional bonds. I will be playing with this rule.

 _POKEMON: 0 DEATHS: 0_

 _Following the sighting of this mysterious red Gyarados, we ask that all settlements near large bodies of water check for similar occurrences to help us further our knowledge of Pokemon._

Lucas read the poster over and over, not sure he understood the severity of the news. It had been brought over by a Pidgeot and his trainer, but that wasn't overly major – parts of Johto weren't too far south of us, yet he wasn't sure why the whole village hadn't gone into a meltdown. There was a Gyarados. It was red. What was the fuss about? It was true that the notice board was almost always empty, but this wasn't even in their region. Maybe they should be shocked at a visitor but the whole village was surprisingly calm.

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Lucas' small village of Twinleaf Town was rather run down ever since the war that split the Sinnoh region in political divide almost 21 years ago. The west and east went against each other in a true battle of power that only ended in damage for everyone, and a 'winner' was never declared. People suffered. A lot.

Settlements were destroyed, some to the point of no return, and they had only pulled themselves back together in the past 5 years. But they wouldn't be alive without their Pokemon. They'd provided people with fresh water – most was polluted – and electricity, heat and fuel, built houses, transported people everywhere and most importantly, been their friends.

However, that's in the places where they had Pokemon. In Twinleaf there was such a low amount of viable Pokemon it was laughable. There were 2 Bibarel (they provide them with their water) and their family of Bidoof, 1 Luxio who provided them with electricity, a Magby and Magmar provided the heat and a flock of the Starly line stayed in the village. No more and no less.

Twinleaf had it worse than most places. Nobody who had left the village has returned in the past 21 years. This poster today should have sent the village into uproar, but strangely didn't. The man who brought it was the first visitor in 7 years. They survive on our own though, it's when someone left that they didn't. If they take a Pokemon they may have survived, but chances are slim. Nobody knows how to survive in anything worse than what the village has, and that's pretty bad as it is. The accommodation is mostly wooden shacks, there are only 2 small buildings made of stone but they use them as storage for what little food they can grow and what little medicine there is. However, most of that medicine never gets used as the illnesses it's for are so rare. As a result of the lack of medical attention many people don't make it past 40, Lucas' dad was unfortunate to be one of those people. Ever since he left the village felt empty. The only person Lucas could really call a friend was Dawn, the only other nice teenager in the village, being 16 as well as him.

Dawn was a very energetic girl, with black hair that fell over her face when she wasn't pushing it out of her eyes. She was funny, sweet and clever; she always knew what to say. She always did. Until she left the village. No-one knows where she left to. She just disappeared one morning and left a trail of cryptic clues that nobody could solve, she was smarter than everybody else. The first clue was fairly easy, she'd left a pile of books on her desk (she loved reading); the first letter of the titles spelt of Verity – the name of the nearby lake.

Lucas and Dawn's mother rushed over to the lake where they found the clue easily. Near the lake was a pile of twigs lay out in some code but we couldn't decipher it. According to her mother it was in Unown scripture, but nobody in the village could read it. We knew Dawn was clever but nobody knew she could read Unown scripture. Dawn was a different calibre.

The other teenager in the village was Barry. He was an arsehole. He didn't even care when Dawn left. Dawn always tried to be nice to him but he was just rude and horrible back so she inevitably gave up trying. He was probably the reason she left. He was a bully and Lucas hated him with everything he could. He also influenced Lucas' decision to leave the village. When they grew up it would be just them with the responsibility in the village, so somebody has to have some experience in the world they were in.

Lucas' decision had been planned for some time now, and tomorrow was the day he was going to leave. He was going to take one of the Bidoof with him to begin his journey, very reluctantly at that. He'd then try and find more Pokemon to provide the village with water and electricity. He also thought it would be nice for the Pokemon in the village to get some company. Luxio especially didn't have anyone to keep him company as he's such a risk to the Bibarel and flying types and the Magby and Magmar are very reserved. Lucas had only learnt recently that the Luxio's name was Lucas as well, which was probably an extra factor in Lucas (the human) getting the motivation to journey across Sinnoh. He would have taken the Luxio with him but he knew that the village needed him more.

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Lucas looked up at the notice board again and spotted another sheet of paper behind the notice about the mysterious red Gyarados. He pulled the poster aside and saw a letter to the village on the notice board, it read:

 _Residents of Twinleaf,_

 _We understand that you have had no contact with the outside world for a substantial period of time, however your help is critical to the survival of Sinnoh. In recent years gang culture has broken out and the world is ravaged by pain. Your village is seen as a sight of serenity._ Lucas looked around at the village of timber houses and agriculture and shivered realising the severity of the issue. _We have a request of you that is very important._

 _One of our professors and his assistant are heading to Lake Verity as we speak with two Pokemon who are full of potential. We ask that you send two of your most physically able residents to meet him there and collect these Pokemon and help stamp out these gangs that are ravishing the nation. The war was bad but this is worse, settlements that were restoring themselves to their former glory are being destroyed by these terrors._

 _We beg of your help,_

 _Sandgem Labatories._

He clutched the letter in his hand, both fear and excitement coursing through him. His chance was finally here!

AUTHORS NOTE:

 _Thank you for reading the start of this fanfic. I hope to put a spin on the story of Pokémon Platinum whilst narrating my nuzlocke of the game as well. I plan on updating this once or twice a week and any support/feedback will be greatly appreciated!_

 _Also, all my Pokemon are going to talk in this fic, it will help character development a lot. And speaking of which, I wanted to change Barry's personality from that of the games as it will really help the story!_

 _Unfortunately, I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is owned by GameFreak._


	2. Chapter 2: The Professor and the Pokemon

_POKEMON: 0 DEATHS: 0_

Every member of the village, human and Pokemon alike, had gathered at the notice board. Lucas had called every member of the village together for a meeting following his discovery of the letter. They had collectively decided that it should be the two most physically able people in the village; that was what the letter had requested anyway.

Lucas was definitely the most physically able in the village, he went on a run every morning and did a lot of farming to keep in shape – food being produced for the village was a secondary effect. His health was always at it's prime as well; he only ever ventured into the medical cupboard when somebody couldn't lift something and needed his help.

He was guaranteed to go, but the question was who else. Lucas thought it was obvious, as did the rest of the village, Barry's older brother, Robert. His physical training regime was almost as rigorous as Lucas' was, and they often trained together. He has good knowledge of Pokemon too, and he and Lucas would share a lot of their knowledge on Pokemon when training together. Robert also raised a lot of the Bidoof. He was the perfect candidate.

But there was one issue, Robert didn't want to go, he wanted to protect the village instead. Lucas thought that was laughable as nobody had visited the village in almost 7 years. That meant there was only one other, Barry. And everyone else in the village was definitely behind that idea. They finally had a chance to get rid of Barry, and he wanted to leave too.

"So it's settled," Robert declared to the villagers. "Lucas and Barry will be the two villagers heading to Verity. You probably have about an hour to get ready so pack your bags. Janet," Robert turned to one of the older woman in the village, "make sure they both have a map to take with them. Thomas, you get them some better footwear. Alan and Samantha, get them both enough food for two weeks, as well as for their Pokemon." Lucas watched in awe as the 25 year old gave out orders to the villagers, realising it made sense that he stayed. If Lucas could get some resources for the village on his travels and send them back, Robert could put them to use. He was starting to take charge already.

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Lucas and Barry were at the gate of the village, pacing back and forth.

"Where is she?" Barry moaned. "She was supposed to be here two hours ago!" Lucas inwardly sighed, I don't know what else he expected, Janet isn't the fastest woman and she would have had to make not one but two copies of the map she has of the Sinnoh region. It shows what the world was like before the war though so we can't be sure of it's accuracy, but it's the best we have. "It's not like I need a map from her, I can easily get to Sandgem and take a map from there!"

"Well what do you expect? Be grateful, she's doing you a favour." Lucas retorted, Janet had been kind to him all through his childhood and he wasn't going to let Barry insult her. He slumped to the floor and rest his head on the new bag he'd been given for his journey.

Barry glared at him and turned around, "Well I'm leaving now, I don't have time to wait around." Lucas shifted his head and saw Barry vaulting over the fence and head towards Verity. Lucas stood up and grabbed his bag and was about to head after Barry when he saw Janet trudging over to him.

"Lucas! Barry!" Janet shouted, "I've got your maps!" She held up two pristine maps in sturdy cases, she'd gone all out on this bless her.

"Janet, Barry's just dashed off, I'll go get him first, and you know what he's like! I'll come back and get the map afterwards. I really appreciate it!" Lucas thanked her and headed after Barry. He turned left and couldn't see Barry ahead of him. Lucas knew that was a bad sign, it was mostly a straight path, and Barry wouldn't take another route and definitely wasn't fast enough. He turned around, and could see Barry headed towards Route 201. There would be wild Pokemon in there, feral Pokemon unlike the ones in the village. Without a Pokemon to help him back them off they would kill him alive.

"Barry, what do you think you're doing?" Lucas shouted at him as he ran past the Twinleaf gate again, noticing Janet walking back to her hut. "There could be dangerous Pokemon in there!" Barry turned around but carried on walking.

"We're two hours late, I can guarantee that they gave up on us and headed back to the laboratory." Barry said blatantly. "If the world needs me that much then I need to go get that Pokemon!"

"Barry you're insane! You'll get yourself killed" Lucas grabbed Barry's arm and turned him round. "Barry, you need to think about this, you'll die if you're not careful!"

"Stop trying to be the hero here Lucas, save the façade for the villagers."

"No, he's correct!" Lucas and Barry turned around, an elderly man stood there looming over them. He was in a suit, and Lucas could identify the crest on his breast pocket as that of Sandgem town. He must be the professor of Sandgem laboratories. "My name is Rowan, I am from Sandgem laboratories and you two must be the two candidates from Twinleaf for these Pokemon." He held up a briefcase which Lucas could hear rattling, it must contain the Pokeballs of their Pokemon. "These Pokemon have a lot of potential, and if they get in to the wrong hands can be dangerous," he continued, "and that is why I'm very reluctant to give them to you." He looked at Barry, who quipped in with an excuse:

"We were late because we were getting resources from our villages and the people in our village were taking too long so I was going to head to your lab and wait for you there." Rowan didn't approve of this excuse, which was made obvious to Lucas by the look on his face.

"Well the lack of patience you have worries me, you could have gotten hurt, or killed, and then what use would you be to me or your village then?" Barry frowned, Rowan clearly didn't care "I realised you were severely late so I headed to Twinleaf, but saw your friend here saving your life which is why I came here. You should be thankful, he saved your life!" Barry glared at Lucas and began to sulk.

"Sir, please, give us both a Pokemon, we both want to help you." Lucas pleaded, Barry looked at him with confusion as to why he was helping, Barry had just been incredibly rude to him and always had. He had also pushed his best friend to running away. "And, even if you are only give one of us a Pokemon now, please let it be Barry, his brother's knowledge of Pokemon is incredible so I can only assume that the same applies for Barry."

"How very mature of you…"

"Lucas, my name's Lucas" He extended his hand and Rowan shook it.

"Lucas? A girl with dark hair by the name of Dawn came through the village some time ago, she took Timmy – a Turtwig – with her and mentioned her best friend was a Lucas of Twinleaf." Lucas was in shock.

"You met Dawn? She left the village without a trail, well that's not strictly true, a while ago and we never knew where she went. Was she OK? Do you know where she is now? Is she with you in Sandgem?"

"Calm down, boy. She looked well and she headed to Jubilife, that's all I know. Jubilife is one of the safer cities so she should be fine. Anyway, back to why we are here, the Pokemon." Rowan continued his ramblings but didn't hear any of it. Dawn was safe! He had to find her, he will find her! "So, Lucas, you can choose first." That brought him back into focus.

"What? Why? That's not fair!" Barry winged.

"I disagree, he has been the noble and mature one in this. You will get a Pokemon so don't worry, but he deserves to choose first." Barry sulked but let Lucas choose first. Rowan sent out two Pokemon.

"This is Perry, he is a Piplup. His species are very proud and will protect you." The penguin Pokemon stood with his chest out.

"Nice to meet you! I hope you choose me to be your ever loyal partner!" Perry announced, Lucas saw the professor wasn't wrong about him being proud. His attention was drawn to a high energy chimp that was brought out of it's Pokeball.

"Hey there! I'm Charlie. I hope we can be friends." He bounded about as he spoke.

"As this little Chimchar said, his name is Charlie, now what's your choice Lucas?" Lucas didn't need to think about it. He stepped forward and scooped Charlie up into his arms. The little monkey climbed up and sat on Lucas' head. He laughed and scratched his underbelly, already knowing they were destined to be brilliant friends.

"I pick you, Charlie!"

"I wanted Piplup from the start anyway!" Barry stated crouching down next to the little penguin. Lucas noticed how he used his species name and not his actual name but didn't say anything on the matter.

"Well, I expect to see you at my laboratory soon. Goodbye, and look after your Pokemon." The professor released a Staraptor from it's pokeball and flew away. Barry turned and scowled at Lucas.

"How could you show me up like that? I demand revenge! I challenge you to a battle." Barry exclaimed. But Lucas felt like he wasn't being spoke to; the message was for somebody else.

"I think the word revenge is a bit extreme but we happily accept your challenge, don't we Charlie?" The monkey leapt down in response, taking a battle stance.

"Damn right we do! Perry, you've been rude to me ever since I came to the lab, and I'm gonna show you what I can do!" Lucas could see himself in Charlie, and Barry in Perry.

"You really think you're going to outdo me? Pathetic!" The penguin retorted, taking a battle stance also. "Barry, let's do this!"

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"Perry, use pound!" Piplup leapt forward with his arm behind him, building up momentum.

"Charlie, can you hear me." Lucas whispered, the monkey put up a thumb in response. "Wait until he gets really close and don't move and then I'll give you a command, trust me and it'll work." Charlie stood still as Perry advanced.

Barry looked confused. "Aren't you going to do anything? Or are you too scared? Perry, don't hold back." Lucas could see an evil glint in his eyes. He knew that the kid had been through a lot, is this an outlet for him? Lucas could remember the day he became he an arsehole like it was yesterday.

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Lucas and Dawn were 7, they were playing with the Bidoof when they found out. Barry's parents had been at Lake Verity investigating the mysterious Pokemon. There was a mysterious attack from some terrorist group nobody had heard of, and the happy couple were the victims. Lucas remembered hearing that it was some people from the east who were still angry about the war, but he didn't believe it, he always thought there was some other cause.

Ever since that day, Barry has been a different person. He admired his dad – Palmer. We all did, he was a very strong trainer before all his Pokemon were stolen, he raised the Pokemon in the village after that, but even at 7 I could see that he missed them. I could see the same look in Barry's eyes. Robert was clearly the same, but had to be strong as he raised his younger brother.

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"That's what he meant when he said 'revenge'" Lucas thought to himself. He was brought back into focus suddenly by a blur of light blue. "Charlie, scratch!" Lucas exclaimed. He watched the little chimp extend his claws and scythe them across the baby penguin, who cried out in pain as he fell on his back. However, he had to teach Barry that he couldn't just inflict pain to get back at people for his parent's death. "Scratch again!" Charlie leapt forward and raked his claws across the Piplup once more. It got back to it's feet and charged forward.

"Pound!"

"Scratch!"

The Pokemon collided, in a pile of blubber and fur. They both landed on their backs in a pile of dust, but only one rose – Charlie.

"Charlie, are you ok?" Lucas panicked, suddenly realising that there was a lack of medicine in their town of Twinleaf. There would have to be something for fire types though. He recalled the time the little Magby got ill and there was some medicine for it, so Charlie should be able to recover equally well. He could also tell everyone about Dawn, and that she's safe! Her mother Johanna would be so happy.

"Barry, I'm heading back to Twinleaf to get Charlie some medical attention and then I'll begin my journey. You coming with?"

Barry snorted, "After you humiliated me and Perry, I don't think so, you can forget it." He picked Perry up and headed towards Sandgem.

"Idiot" Lucas heard Charlie say. He could tell he was going to be fond of the little fire chimp.

"So Charlie, how old are you?" Lucas enquired.

"I don't know, I can remember the time before the war though." He knew life before the war?

"Really? But you're so small! That's incredible!"

"Not really, we grow by battling and becoming stronger, that battle just then did me a lot in way of growth. Me and Perry were so envious of Timmy when he left with Dawn, but she seemed like a good human so I haven't worried about him. But Perry's cruel, he seems like he'll get along well with that Barry friend of yours."

"Oh, he isn't my friend, don't worry. In fact he is sort of my enemy. We were the only teenagers in the village so there was always competition between us. I decided I hate him the day Dawn left, he drove her to the edge. And you're right, she is a good human, she was great. I'm just glad she's safe."

"Lukey has a crush. Lukey has a crush." Charlie chanted as he danced around Lucas' feet.

"No I don't!" Lucas shouted back, laughing.

"Are you sure? Your cheeks would say otherwise." Charlie taunted. Lucas had felt his cheeks turn red with heat.

"I'm already regretting my decision!" Lucas joked, laughing at his new companion. He could tell he was going to enjoy his journey with his new friend.

AUTHORS NOTE:

 _Unfortunately, I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is owned by GameFreak_


	3. Chapter 3: The Chimp and the Starling

_POKEMON: 1 DEATHS: 0_

"So she's safe? Oh that's wonderful!" Johanna exclaimed, hugging Lucas in the process. He felt a tear fall onto his shoulder, and he felt like doing the same. After Johanna, Lucas was the person closest to Dawn, so he knows how she feels. Sort of.

"And Timmy will look after her so there's no need to worry, Ma'am!" Charlie added.

"Who's Timmy..?" Johanna looked confused.

"A Turtwig, Professor Rowan said he gave him to her to look after her. That's the same man who gave me Charlie here!" Lucas referred to the monkey on his shoulder. "He also gave Barry a Piplup, and they ran off after we beat them in a battle."

"You already had a battle? Wow, that's impressive!" Johanna commented. Lucas saw a small smile form on Charlie's face.

"Anyway, I better head off! I want to go see my mum again and let Robert know what's happened, then get the maps from Janet." Lucas stood up and head for the door. "If I see Dawn I'll let her know you're OK."

Johanna stood up behind him and opened the door. "Again, thank you. I appreciate it."

"No worries, see ya!" Lucas said as he walked out the house.

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Where was she? Lucas had looked all over and couldn't find his mum anywhere. She wasn't in the house and she wasn't in the vegetable patch either. He hadn't been here 10 minutes ago. All he wanted to do was say one last goodbye.

"Don't worry Lukey, she has to be somewhere." Charlie encouraged, but Lucas was panicking. First Barry's parents and then Dawn, he had to find his mum. Had to. "Look, why don't you go find that Rob guy and you might find her on the way? Otherwise we'll have to stay the night and we can't risk losing a day of work. And I kinda want to see this Verity place, the professor always said it was beautiful!" Lucas smiled, Charlie always knew what to say and he was grateful for him, it was only fair he got to see Verity.

"OK, that sounds like a plan." They headed out towards Robert's house, hoping to find Melanie, Lucas' mum. On the way they passed the other Lucas who would be staying in that village. Lucas turned to the electric Pokemon. "Hey Lucas, I thought I'd say one last goodbye before I left."

"I'll miss you." Lucas purred as he nuzzled his human friend.

"I'll miss you too," He rubbed the feline Pokemon's nose, "but Charlie here will protect me."

"I will, I swear it!" Charlie echoed.

"I trust you will. Let's not extend this anymore, goodbye Lucas."

"Goodbye." He continued on the path, waving over his shoulder as Charlie padded at his feet.

"Who was that? You seemed fond of him?" Charlie enquired.

"Yes, I was. His name was Lucas also, and he was just my friend in the village. I spent a lot of time with him when Dawn left the village." Lucas reminisced. He had some good memories with Lucas.

"Then why don't we bring him with us?" Charlie sounded hopeful at the prospect of a companion.

"No, he's more important to the village. He's all they have to provide them with electricity so it would be selfish really." Lucas realised he was already talking about the village as if he'd left. He just had to find his mother first and then he would.

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"I'll visit as often as I can. And if I get a flying Pokemon I'll send them back with letters and supplies as often as I can!" He hugged his mum and left, not wanting to prolong it any longer than necessary. He found her at Robert's house, she was there panicking about me and Barry and the only other person in the same situation was Robert so she went to him for comfort.

Robert's house was right next to the village gate so Lucas and Charlie strolled straight out of the village. His bag was slung on his back and he was surprised at the technology it offered. It had a computer inside of it that would store items that don't fit in an electrical state back at the village computer in the town hall of Twinleaf. It also had a system that allowed him to send his Pokemon back to the village when he exceeded six. That was a limit most trainers put on themselves, as some of their Pokemon would become neglected if they trained more.

Outside of the gate Lucas pulled out his map. He picked them up from Janet before he left, taking Barry's too so he could give it to him at their next encounter. He looked at his options, he could turn right and head to Sandgem town and Rowan's laboratories, but he had other plans. Lake Verity was beautiful and he wanted Charlie to see it before they left for the rest of Sinnoh.

They headed down the dirt path to the lake, the trees became denser the closer they got to the lake so Lucas knew he was on the right path. The trees finally became so close they were almost all touching, but there was a small path in between an Oak tree and an Elm tree; they slipped through there.

It was beautiful, Charlie couldn't believe it was real. He took a step closer to the water, peered into it and recoiled. There was something in it. He felt Lucas' hand on his back. "Don't worry, it's just a reflection." Lucas seemed so calm so Charlie lent over again. He could make out his face in the slightly green, rippled water of the lake.

"Is it safe?" Lucas chuckled.

"Of course it's safe, look." Lucas relaxed Charlie and touched the water, Charlie saw his face ripple slightly in the water. The water stilled and his face returned to it's original shape.

"Why's the water green?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know to be honest. I thought you would seeing as you were alive during the war. I heard that most mass bodies of water were ruined." Lucas said. He looked at Charlie hopefully.

"Well the East did try and damage the water sources for the West but the Professor had said that water type Pokemon could cleanse the water, so they did. I didn't think that the water was still poisoned anywhere. But what do I know? I've been in a lab for the past 21 years." Charlie sighed and Lucas felt sorry for him, maybe this journey was what he needed.

"The water was never cleansed here due to lack of strong water type Pokemon, sir!" Lucas turned around to see a little Starly stood behind him. It was stood with it's chest out, very proud that it had given the information. "It is the same across a lot of Eastern Sinnoh, sir."

Lucas was surprised this little Starly was referring to him with such respect. "May I ask why you're calling me sir? Sorry I didn't quite catch your name." The little bird Pokemon braced upon being spoken to.

"Well I am a soldier, sir. My whole family are soldiers, and we refer to those above us with respect. And my name is Sarah." The Starly stated as if it were relating a message back to a superior.

"Well Sarah it's lovely to meet you, but what put's me above you?" Lucas felt honoured to be treated with such respect.

"Well, I hope you will be my trainer, sir. It would be an honour." Sarah replied, trying to remain composed but Charlie could sense a tone of desperation in her voice.

"I would love to have a soldier as strong and respectful as you with me. If it's alright with you Buddy." Lucas looked at Charlie for confirmation and accepted his nod as a yes, "Then it is settled. You will now journey with us, soldier." Lucas grabbed an empty pokeball from his belt and tapped it on Sarah's head. She disappeared into the ball and sat calmly, joining the team.

{}

Charlie and Sarah sat, watching out for dangers as Lucas slept. He drifted off after sharing tales of his childhood, and Dawn. They both realised how much he cared for her, and saving her was his real goal. They respected that.

"So, what's the real reason you wanted to join us? I could hear the cracks in your voice when you were giving your spiel about it being an honour." Charlie turned to Sarah and could see her looking ashamed.

"Well do you know how hard it is to get food out here? It's so difficult to get by, my family all left me about a year ago when a trainer took them all. All 5 of them, and they never came back for me. I decided I'd need a strong admirable trainer to help me track them down. They could feed me, I fight for them. You lab monkeys don't know how easy you have it. Pokemon are dying every day because of the lack of food. The real world is tough. I need someone tougher to help me survive." Sarah sighed. She remembered watching her family being taken like it was yesterday. She really wanted to find them one day.

"Is it really that bad? I didn't know it was that bad. I'm sorry." Charlie apologised, even though he knew it wasn't his fault.

"It's fine, don't worry. Anyway, I'm gonna go to sleep, goodnight Charlie." She paused for a second. "And thank you."

"Goodnight Sarah, and you're welcome." Charlie said before drifting off into a deep slumber.

AUTHORS NOTE:

I'm spitting these out like there nobody's business, but I can't promise that this will be constant for the entire story as I go back to school soon D': I'll get as much out as I can before then though. And I'm really glad I got a starly straight away, I love them sooooooo much.

 _Unfortunately, I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is owned by GameFreak_


	4. Chapter 4: The Coal and the Beaver

_POKEMON: 2 DEATHS: 0_

"So what was life like before the war? I'd love to know." Sarah turned to Charlie, she was always wanting to know more. Lucas noticed how inquisitive she was. Her personality was that of a soldier, no doubt.

"It was beautiful. The skies were always clear." Charlie pointed to the slightly grey sky. Lucas remembered it being like that ever since he was born. "So many Pokemon lived in Sinnoh before then, many migrated during the war. And my species didn't live only in labs, we lived in the forests in the North West. I remember being there when I was young, but we were in danger during the war so were taken into labs. They didn't want our species to go extinct. I suppose I could relate to your story about your family being taken from you. It would be nice to see one of my family one day." Lucas was surprised to hear that Sarah's family had been taken. She hadn't said anything to him and that concerned him, but was glad Charlie knew. She told him and that meant she could trust him, and that was imperative if they were going to be fighting together. He also realised that was the first Charlie had mentioned about his family. He realised the impact the war had had on the world, and how Twinleaf had really been left out of it all.

"Well then, we should set that as our goal, to find our families," she paused, "together." Lucas noted how she was trying to bond with Charlie.

"She must feel left out," Lucas thought to himself. "Me and Charlie are evidently quite close and she is the third wheel. Maybe another companion is what she needs." Lucas pulled out his map. They hadn't been on Route 201 long, and it was early morning so he wasn't surprised they hadn't encountered any Pokemon yet. That was when a small bipedal bug meandered out in front of the trio. The majority of its body was red with a streak down its front and black cape-like marking on its back. Its head was encircled with a flat, white structure similar to a collar. Two black antennae with curled tips protruded from the little bug's forehead. It waddled along with a small piece of food in it's hand, although Lucas couldn't identify what it was. It continued to waddle along and stopped, taking a moment to then turn and see the trio staring at it intently, who were wondering what it was up to, and subsequently dropping it's food and curling into a small ball.

"Please don't eat me. Please don't eat me. Please don't eat me." Lucas heard it repeat like some war chant. Sarah padded forward and pecked it, then pecked it harder, and once more. Every time she bounced off with serious force.

Charlie looked at Lucas. "Please tell me you aren't considering catching this thing and bringing it with us." He pointed to the whimpering little bug a mere few yards from them.

"I think we should, he seemed to have a very tough body for someone so little, and he seemed to be getting stronger every time I tapped him." Sarah gave her insight on the matter.

Lucas nodded, much to Charlie's disappointment. "I think she's right buddy, he's a tough cookie and he can only get stronger." Charlie sighed and nodded, giving Lucas his consent. In response Lucas pulled out a pokeball and tapped it on the little bugs head. He disappeared inside, and the ball shook, but it sounded it's signature click signifying the Pokemon was on the team. Lucas threw the ball into the air and the Pokemon appeared once more, still terrified.

"Wh-wh-what do you wan-want?" The bug Pokemon shook with nerves, Charlie sighed, trying to be as loud as possible.

"Well, I want you to come with us and grow strong little buddy." Lucas said. "Would you like that? What's your name?"

"R-really? Wow mister, thanks, I'd love that. And the names Kurt." The little bug stuck his stubby hand out, and Lucas shook it.

"Well Kurt, welcome to the team!" Lucas said warmly.

{}

The four of them were now heading towards Sandgem town once again. Charlie took the lead whilst Sarah perched on Lucas' shoulder. Kurt sat in Lucas' arms, despite needing some training. All was going well, until a Starly swooped in and tried to attack Lucas and Kurt. Sarah flew away in shock, but Charlie leapt forward; claws exposed.

The Starly fell to the ground in pain, but quickly got up and tried to hover in the air so Charlie couldn't attack it, waiting for an opening.

"Is it going to eat me?" Kurt said, panicked. Lucas was shocked, Pokemon ate Pokemon? He then realised how stupid it was to think that, of course Pokemon ate Pokemon, and how else would they get their meat? He ate Miltank meat all the time back at home, even had some in his backpack.

"Not if I can help it!" Charlie shouted, then spat a barrage of embers up in the air at the Starly, which soon fell to the ground. All Lucas could smell was burning feathers.

"That was incredible Charlie!" Sarah said in awe.

"It was nothing, I am a fire type, remember?" Charlie was still obviously pleased with the praise.

"Exactly, a fire type. You _burnt_ this Starly. It needs medical attention." Lucas was worried, it was clearly hurt.

"Leave it Lucas, it would just try and eat another Kricketot anyway. And you may not like it, but that's the reality of this world. Twinleaf is a haven, you don't know how good you have it. Now can we carry on?" Sarah explained. Lucas realised that she had been in this world much longer than he had, and that she was right. She ignored how upset he looked and began to carry on, Charlie soon followed suit.

"She's right Lucas, it isn't safe around here for my species. I'm only 3 months old. I wouldn't have survived much longer had you not come to my rescue. If you feel that bad, give it an Oran berry from that tree over there, otherwise you'll have to leave it." Kurt tried to help, and he did. Lucas did what was recommended to him and left an Oran berry next to the Starly and began to leave. Maybe this was journey was going to be more difficult than he imagined.

{}

They had been attacked several times on their way to Sandgem but had already grown significantly stronger. Kurt had the amazing ability to withstand a barrage of attacks and then deal twice as much damage back. He had taken out several Starly and Bidoof that way, but refused to attack any other Kricketot – Charlie and Sarah handled them instead. Lucas had already noticed Kurt was growing bigger. He now had to use both arms to carry him, opposed to one like originally. Sarah had also learnt a new attack, she would fly through the air at lightning speed, almost invisible to the eye. Everyone was growing strong, Lucas was proud of them.

They'd protected him on the way to Sandgem, and he'd do all he could to protect them. They'd protected him long enough for him to get to Sandgem town. And it was horrible.

The houses were wooden shacks, they appeared to be lucky to have 4 walls. There was also an old brick building on the left as soon as he entered the settlement. He assumed that was Rowan's laboratory. He'd visit him once he'd looked round the town.

Charlie knew the town pretty well as he'd lived here for a while before he joined Lucas. "I can show you round if you like. There's the market over there, and a couple of houses down here. You should speak to the people who live there, they might know stuff about Dawn." Lucas thought that was a good idea, and pledged to speak to as many people as possible on his journey. He'd also ask them about the state of the world. He wanted to know as much as he could to help him survive in this world.

{}

"Thank you, when they attacked the village they left us destroyed. My son was one of those injured worst, thank you for your help." Alfred said as Lucas finished the bandaging on his son's leg.

"What exactly happened?" Lucas asked. He was once again shown the harsh reality of the world.

"A gang attacked the village. They came in from Route 202 up north, they may have been from Jubilife?" Jubilife? Dawn could be in danger! "We had almost no Pokemon to protect us from theirs, as they went with the professor. Although they're back now, and two are with you and your friend, the one who completely ignored our pleas for help." Lucas wasn't surprised Barry had ignored them all.

"He's always been like that. Doesn't care for anyone else, I wonder if he'll be the same to his Pokemon? Anyway, what else do you know?" Lucas needed to know more.

"Well they attacked with some pretty weak Pokemon, you might be able to handle them. They were going to attack the market and try and loot it, but Oscar" Alfred referred to his unconscious son, "jumped in the way of the attacking Pokemon to protect it. The stock at that market is all we can sell to raise funds for the village. Being a beach town we struggle to grow crops, but the water Pokemon provide us with clean water so we're fine in that regard."

"Then why didn't you come to Twinleaf? We could have helped you out." Lucas was confused.

"It wasn't safe for us to get there, Rowan can fly over on his Staraptor but that's all, we didn't want to risk anyone getting harmed." Lucas was still confused but didn't want to question the villages behaviour, they had their reasons and it wasn't his place to judge them.

"I'll try and find them and stop them from doing it again." Lucas pledged.

"Lucas, ask about Dawn." Charlie suggested, only he was out of his pokeball as not to overwhelm the villagers.

"Dawn? That name sounds familiar." Oscar was trying to remember what the name meant.

"She's my friend from Twinleaf. She left the village one day, it was about 8 months ago now. The professor said he gave her Timmy, a Turtwig, from the lab as she passed through. She has long black hair and always wore a white hat. Did you see her?" Lucas was pleading he knew something.

"Oh, I remember now. Oscar said he saw her on the beach. She left some sort of clue there? She said that "They would come and find it." one day. I assume that she meant you. It's still there, I can show you." Alfred said.

"Please do, that would be great!" Charlie said hopefully. He left through the door and began to the beach.

"That's a smart Pokemon you got there." Alfred said.

"He is, but he did live here for a while so that's probably how he knows." Lucas remarked.

"Probably."

{}

Charlie smelt it before he saw it. He had missed the sea in the few days he'd been gone. The professor would take him and Perry to see it every day. Of course he could never swim in it, but it was beautiful. He pulled Lucas towards the sea, excited for him to see it, as excited as Lucas was for Charlie to see Lake Verity. He saw to the right what Alfred said Dawn had left as a clue for Lucas. He remembered the day it appeared, if only he knew why it was there he could have worked out what it meant. Even though he knew it wasn't his fault he felt responsible. "Lucas, can we show Sarah and Kurt this too?"

"Of course, they'll love it." Lucas said as he threw Kurt's and Sarah's pokeballs into the air.

"It's _amazing_ " They chorused.

"Isn't it, this was my home for a long time." Charlie felt proud that he had shown this to two more people, that he could share his favourite thing in the world with them.

Alfred took Lucas aside as his Pokemon looked out to sea. There was a pile of coal there, but it meant nothing to him. "It was significantly bigger at first, but we used some of the coal for the town." Alfred told the teenager. "She only put it here when she came back; she left the village and returned two weeks later with this. Maybe she thought we needed the help, she wasn't wrong, and did this for us. I suppose we should be thankful."

Lucas stared at the pile of coal but couldn't put any significant meaning to it. He would speak to the professor about it, and also ask around in Jubilife.

"Well, thanks for everything Alfred, I'm going to see the professor now. He might know something. Thanks again." Lucas turned to his Pokemon, "Come on guys, let's go."

{}

Lucas final reached the lab. The journey on the way had been uneventful but the villagers trusted him enough now that he could keep all of his Pokemon out of their pokeballs. Sarah and Charlie weren't that overwhelmed, they knew the harsh reality of the world, but Kurt was shocked.

"Someone needs to do something about this. That's what I want to do, Lucas. Help me grow strong so I can do something!" There was a new found determination in Kurt's voice.

"Well I can already feel you growing in my arms, Kurt. You're on your way to being strong, and then you can help." Lucas squeezed him as he made his promise. "Charlie, can you grab the door for me?"

"Sure thing Lukey." Lucas wasn't sure why Charlie had adopted that nickname, but he didn't mind. It would only strengthen their bond.

As the foursome stepped in Lucas saw that the room wasn't in a much better condition than the rest of the town. There was dirt and mould all over the floor and walls. The windows were just holes in the brick, the glass had been broken out. And the 3 occupants of the lab clearly didn't make any effort to tidy. There were papers all over the floor, old wiring all over the floor. This was not safe, but it was most likely better than what most places have.

Lucas walked towards the back of the lab to the professor and his two assistants, being careful not to trip on any cables on his way – he didn't want to drop Kurt. Only when the four were about 3 metres away did the scientists notice his presence.

"Oh, hello Lucas. Nice to see you and Charlie have some companions already." The professor remarked, indicating to Sarah and Kurt.

"Hi professor, this is Sarah, my Starly, and Kurt, my Kricketot. Of course you already know Charlie." As Lucas said this Charlie clambered on top of the professor's head, making him laugh. "I came to see what you know about the attack on the village, we're going to try and ambush the group so they don't attack the village again."

"Well I wasn't here when it happened. Do either of you know what happened?" Rowan turned to his assistants.

A tall woman with glasses shook her head, but a stocky man seemed to know a bit. "They came from Route 202, I was at the healing centre when they attacked. They cycled in, and all of their Pokemon were rather weak. They tried to take some of the stock from the market but weren't successful at all. Oscar got them out of the village, but they could come back at any time, everyone's on edge. We need your help!"

"Thank you! I'll go find them and find out what they wanted. I'll make sure they don't come back as well." Lucas pledged, disgusted at this gangs behaviour.

"Also Lucas, I have a favour to ask you."

"Sure, professor."

"I have been working on this device for a while now. It's called a Pokedex, it's a large, highly advanced encyclopaedia of all the Pokemon in Sinnoh, but I could do with your help filling it up. It will be very useful for you as well, and will allow you to contact me whenever." Rowan held up a small computer like device. Lucas took it and looked at it intensely, if he was going to be using it often he wanted to know how it worked.

"You finished it professor? That's incredible!" Charlie bounded over to Lucas; Sarah and Kurt crowded round too.

"Thank you Charlie, do you want to be the first to test it out?" Charlie nodded vigorously. "Okay, Lucas, open it and point it at Charlie. There should be a series of information on the screen upon doing so." Lucas followed the instructions and a vast range of information on Charlie appeared on the screen. His moves, height, weight and everything in between.

"That's amazing professor!" Lucas exclaimed. "Thank you! Also, do you know what a pile of coal on the beach could mean?" Lucas asked, turning to the professor.

"A pile of coal? What do you mean?" The professor was clearly confused.

"Well Dawn left a trail of clues behind her for me. I'm trying to find her, remember?" Lucas patronised, and then felt bad for his attitude. "Sorry."

"It's fine don't worry. And a pile of coal? All that can mean to me is Oreburgh City? It's a mining town east of Jubilife. You have to go through a cave to get there but it will be worth it. I suggest that's where you head next.

"Thank you professor. I'll beat that group down, and head to Jubilife. I'll go to Oreburgh after that. Thanks again!" Lucas waved to the group of scientists and headed out. His small party followed him and they reconvened outside. The professor came out of the lab quickly, with a disc in his hand.

"Lucas, take this. It's called a TM (short for technical machine), it will instantly teach a Pokemon the move that's on the disc. This teaches it the move Return, the friendlier the Pokemon, the stronger the move. Use it wisely, you can only use it once." The professor handed Lucas the TM. He used the computer in his bag to send it back to Twinleaf.

"Thank you, professor. I'll see you soon, ok." Lucas lead the way to Route 202, determined to take the gang down. He stopped off at the village's small healing centre, wanting his group to be in perfect condition before he left again.

"Ok guys, let's do this." Charlie said, determined.

{}

They saw the route ahead of them, there were so many Pokemon in the grass, and Lucas couldn't see any of the gang members. They headed out towards the grass, and Lucas was instantly knocked to the floor. Kurt flew from his arms. "Sarah, catch him!"

"On it!" Sarah swooped up and caught Kurt in her talons, setting him on the ground. Meanwhile, Lucas wrestled the Bidoof off of his chest.

"Charlie, a bit of help please?" The monkey scratched the beaver-like Pokemon off of his trainer. Lucas threw a pokeball at it's head, and it vanished inside.

"You're not actually going to catch it after it knocked you down are you?" Charlie said, shocked.

"It did, and it did it hard. It's powerful, and when Bidoof evolve they gain the water type, which'll be useful." Lucas knew a lot about Bidoof, seeing as they were raised in Twinleaf.

"Well if you insist." Charlie said, begrudgingly.

{}

"I can't believe he let that Billy kid come with us." Charlie moaned.

"You heard what he said, Charlie. He's going to be a strong soldier." Sarah said, trying to console Charlie, who obviously wasn't happy that Billy had attacked his trainer.

"Bidoof aren't that strong, and neither are Bibarel. I'm just confused as to why he did it." Charlie was just trying to find excuses for himself now.

"Charlie look. I saw it and I assume Lucas did too. That Bidoof was starved, and Lucas obviously wanted to help it survive. They raise Bidoof in his hometown and he probably felt some emotional obligation. Just let it slide." Sarah felt like she had to defend Billy. "I had a good friend named Burt back at Verity, he was a Bidoof also. I watched him get murdered by his family. They were hungry and he was the weakest. He was an easy target and they took needed food." A tear slid town Sarah's beak.

"I'm sorry Sarah, I didn't know." Charlie apologised.

"You couldn't have, thank you." Sarah whispered. She sat and bowed her head, only to raise it when Charlie hugged her. "I hope they get back soon. It's getting late and if we want to be ready to take that gang on tomorrow we need to rest. I understand they need to train but I'm just scared for them. Those two aren't the strongest."

"Don't worry, Sarah. They'll be fine." Charlie comforted her. "Look, there they are." Charlie pointed at Lucas, Kurt and Billy returning.

"Oh thank God!" Sarah exclaimed. She flew the short distance she could over and landed on Lucas' head.

"Don't worry, we're back, aren't we guys." Billy and Kurt nodded. "And we're ready to take them down, right guys."

"Right." The group chorused.

AUTHORS NOTE:

Thought I would include a team recap at the end of each Chapter. So here it is:

 _Name:_ Charlie _Species_ : Chimchar

 _Name:_ Sarah _Species:_ Starly

 _Name:_ Kurt _Species:_ Kricketot

 _Name:_ Billy _Species:_ Bidoof

I'm reluctantly using Kurt, but Kricketune can be rather useful at Gardenia's gym so I'll try and keep him round. Also, he can be death fodder if it comes to it.

And I don't mind using Bidoof. I think they already get enough hate, so I'm gonna try and make this one rather honourable. Billy, you will be brilliant. _I pledge it *evil laugh*_ Erm, sorry about that.

And yeah, happy ending to the chapter. No deaths yet so woo!

 _Unfortunately, I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is owned by GameFreak_


	5. Chapter 5: The Thugs and the Fire

_POKEMON: 4 DEATHS: 0_

"Ok, there they are." Lucas pointed at the group of ruffians. They looked tough on the exterior, but judging by their pushbikes and Pokemon they weren't that strong. "Billy, Kurt, you two are gonna take the ones on the side. Sarah, Charlie, you're gonna take the one in the middle. He seems like their leader. Everyone got it?"

"That's fine by me." Billy remarked. He seemed like he wanted to take this gang down more for himself than the village. They had terrorised his route for a long while, and he had a rivalry with one of the Bidoof in the group apparently. The rest of the team were as determined though, he wasn't about to let Billy do more than he could handle though. This group seemed dangerous and he didn't know what they would do to a Pokemon if it was down. He didn't want to risk it.

"I'll do whatever you say, Lucas. What they did to the village wasn't right, and we need to punish them." Kurt said. He jumped down to the ground and prepared to charge. Lucas had never seen him this pumped, he liked it.

"Alright. Let's go!" The team charged forward. They didn't make a point of being quiet, quickly drawing the attention of the gang.

"Get 'em Starly! Bidoof!" The enemy's Pokemon charged forward, only to be met by an onslaught of embers and feathers. Kurt was there, withstanding a barrage of attacks from the foe's Starly. Just when he looked like he was about to collapse, he unleashed a torrent of power at the bird. Another Pokemon was just about to attack him, but backed off when he suddenly began to grow. Kurt's shape began to change dramatically. Once the transformation was over, Lucas was faced with a red insectoid Pokemon that he could only assume was Kurt. He had feelers in the shape of a moustache on his face. His arms were now long, in the shapes of blades. The 'blades' began to glow green, and Kurt jumped in front of Charlie, who was being bullied by a pair of Starly. He slashed out at one who was only slightly knocked back, but repeatedly slashed out, each blow getting stronger. Lucas was too focused on what Kurt was doing to notice the gang leader charging at him from the side, he was knocked down and all the wind was knocked out of him.

"Whaddya thin' ya doin', hey?" The leader spat at Lucas. "Answer m-argh!" Lucas looked up to see Billy gnawing on the man's arm. He took his chance and punched the man in the jaw and crawled away. The man shook off Billy and got back to his feet.

"Billy, tackle him down again!" The Bidoof knocked him to the ground. It was the same everywhere else. The Pokemon were unconscious, the trainers were on the floor. Kurt and Charlie dragged the gang together, and they didn't move in fear of being scythed open or charred to death.

"Who are you?" The only female in the group asked.

"We're protecting Sandgem town from thugs like you!" Sarah shouted. "And you will never, ever, attack them again. Do you promise?"

"Or what?!" One of the thugs laughed at Sarah.

"This!" Charlie spat an ember at the thug's feet. Panic filled his eyes and he backed off.

"Okay you made your point. We won't do anything to the town again." Lucas raised his eyebrow? "We swear!"

"Fine, but if anything happens again you'll be sorry." Lucas walked past the group as they sat there, fearful of what his Pokemon could do. Lucas wasn't comfortable with this aggressive demeanour, but it was necessary to keep these rogues as submissive as they were.

{}

The faint outline of the city was visible in the smoke. Lucas had smelt it before he saw it, but Jubilife was rife with smoke. Lucas put everyone in their pokeballs aside from Charlie, he was a fire type so he could handle the smoke. But the citizens of Jubilife were subject to a different fate. Lucas was welcomed to collapsed bodies, crying children clutching to their sleeping parents (who were probably never going to wake up).

"Charlie, can you tell where the fire started?" Lucas asked, staying as low as he could, trying not to inhale smoke.

"I'm not too sure of the specific place, but it's definitely in the north part of town. We should check it out." Charlie led the way.

"Sure buddy, show me the way." Lucas followed the little chimp. They were about halfway there when a winged vehicle shot above him in the sky. Lucas could make out a yellow ' _G_ ' on the bottom of the wings in the few seconds it was above him. "What was _that?_ " Lucas had never seen anything like that before, but none of the citizens (who weren't taking cover in their homes) of Jubilife seemed that shocked.

"It was an aeroplane, Lucas. Have you never seen one before?" Charlie made it seem like it should be common knowledge.

"An aeroplane? I've never seen one in my life. It was magnificent." Lucas was in awe at this ~thing~ that had flown above his head. "But what exactly is one of them?"

"It's basically a ship that can go in the sky. They can hold loads of people at once, but nowadays they are mainly used for transporting cargo from place to place." Charlie explained. He saw the expression on Lucas' face and told him that the professor had taught him all of this back at the lab.

"That's incredible! I wonder what that G on the bottom meant though?" Lucas enquired.

"A G you say? Was it yellow by any chance?" Lucas turned around and saw a tall man with black hair crouched down to keep under the smoke. Lucas nodded. "Interesting, it must've been them." He trailed off. "Young man, will you come with me to the site of all this?"

"Sure. Charlie, you can tell where it started?" The little chimp nodded and set off.

{}

"That little Chimchar of yours is pretty clever, locating the source of the fire like that." Looker said. Lucas had got a better look at him now. He wore a long brown coat over a green suit jacket. His face was rather pointed as well, as was the badge on his breast pocket, the one that declared him as a member of the international police – his rank was detective apparently. He had called many of his colleagues to help clear the smoke and douse out the last of the flames, they were successful enough that Lucas could now stand up.

He was stood outside the remnants of the Poketch building. Poketch was renowned across Sinnoh, they made state of the art smart watches. For his help he had been given one of the watches himself, but was lucky to get one as most of the building and it's contents had been burnt to the ground. Fortunately most people were uninjured, there was just the unlucky few.

"Thanks, he was raised in a lab so he has all sorts of knowledge." Lucas told the detective. "And he's a fire type so that stuff comes naturally to him."

"It was nothing detective, and thanks to you and your guys that nasty stuff is gone." Charlie beamed with pride, he wasn't used to it back at the lab.

"Well now we need to find out what happened. I can already tell that this was a case of arson." Looker frowned, and Lucas followed suit. "The fire spread quick as well so I want to get some witness reports, see if anything out of the ordinary was spotted elsewhere. Fortunately Jubilife has a strong medical force so any civilians who were harmed will have already been taken care of. Just the not so fortunate will be a different matter." Looker turned to Lucas, "The reason I asked you about the Yellow G on the plane is because there is a new large gang operating across Sinnoh. They call themselves Team Galactic and are very dangerous, I believe this was one of their crimes. They've been performing acts like this all over Sinnoh, and I believe they were after the technology at the Poketch Company."

"Well where's the company president? You could ask him." Lucas suggested. Looker's frown deepened.

"He was unconscious on the scene of the crime. I believe him to be in a coma, so that isn't an option. A lot of the staff are in a long term state of unconsciousness. Probably another gimmick of whoever started the fire to slow us down. However your help has been invaluable Lucas. Thank you!" Looker took Lucas' hand and shook it vigorously. "If there is anything you ever need do not hesitate to contact me on this." Looker handed Lucas a blue tablet. "It's called a Vs. Recorder. It will automatically record some of your battles, and as I said, you can contact me on it."

"Thanks, Looker. I'm going to head to the Trainer's school now that everything's calmed down. Not much of that side of town was damaged anyway and I hear they put a lot of the kids in there to protect them. I'll let you know if I hear anything." Lucas turned to the tiny monkey at his side. "Let's go Charlie."

"Sure, but can everyone else see this? Even though it's been damaged pretty badly it'd still be nice." Charlie clearly wanted some Pokemon companions, having been surrounded by only humans for so long. Lucas released Sarah, Kurt and Billy from there pokeballs.

"What is this place, mister?" Billy asked, Kurt and Sarah were both about to ask the same thing too. "It's a bit, err, warm?"

"This is Jubilife City!" Lucas exclaimed, signalling to the skyscrapers around him.

" _This_ is Jubilife? But the people at Sandgem made it sound so nice." Kurt whined.

"Well, there was a fire across the north half of the city. It's been left pretty damaged, but they are rather well off for money, resources and labourers here so they should be almost back to normal in a few weeks. Apart from the Poketch building, that's where it all started." Lucas explained.

"I reckon that Looker guy was right about it being arson." Charlie suddenly spoke up. "Looker's this detective guy who got a load of people to clear the fire and smoke."

"Maybe I should let him know with that pad thing." Lucas thought aloud.

"Yeah, but you might find some other stuff out first so I'd wait a day or two. Don't want to annoy him" Kurt said. He wasn't too comfortable in the heat being a bug type so Lucas hurried up slightly to get him out of the warm. Charlie was revelling in it on the other hand.

{}

"Fine, I'll take the stupid map!" Barry snatched the map Janet had made him out of Lucas' hand and stormed out of the trainer's school.

"Well that was unnecessary." Sarah squawked at him as he disappeared into the warm metropolis.

"Ignore him, we can beat him the next time we see him." Sarah smiled at that concept.

"About time I got to batter that bluebeak!" Sarah shouted. "I may have only met him once but he makes my blood boil!"

"Sarah, calm down or you won't focus on actually beating him." Lucas instructed. She subdued like any soldier receiving orders would. "What's a bluebeak anyway?"

"It's quite an offensive insult flying types use." Kurt explained. "Most types have insults they use. For example, us bugs use the word coldcocoon often. It comes from many Kakuna and Metapod who die cold in their cocoons."

"I didn't know. I just don't expect to hear you calling me any of them." Lucas joked. "Anyway, let's get some rest at the Pokemon centre, I hear it's amazing here in Jubilife." He led the way to the red building where the group settled down for the night.

AUTHORS NOTE:

Team recap:

 _Name: Charlie Species: Chimchar_

 _Name: Sarah Species: Starly_

 _Name: Kurt Species: Kricketune_

 _Name: Billy Species: Bidoof_

Thought I would have a nice quiet ending to this chapter. And yeah, Kurt evolved, Kricketune may be useful a bit later on.

Thanks everyone for reading. Please leave any comments you have!

 _Unfortunately, I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is owned by GameFreak_


	6. Chapter 6: The Old Friend and the Stone

_POKEMON: 4 DEATHS: 0_

"Wait! Don't hurt her!" Charlie pushed Kurt aside, making his fury cutter slash into the grass. "Beth, are you alright?!" He picked her up off the floor and brushed the dirt off of her.

"Wait, you know her?" Sarah asked shocked.

"Yeah, she was with me at the lab for a while." Charlie explained.

"They were researching how I evolve into Roselia, as I'm a Budew." She continued on from Charlie. "And as Charles here said, my name is Beth." Charlie blushed when she called him Charles. "Plus, you needn't worry, I'm well and uninjured."

Kurt leant over to Lucas, "She's a bit posh, ain't she?" He whispered as he didn't want to insult the small grass type.

"I suppose, but that doesn't mean she can't come with us." He knelt down in front of Beth. "Hey, you don't seem so safe out here, and you get on with Charles" Charlie glared at him, "rather well so I have a proposition."

"I would love to hear it." Beth replied.

"I would like you to come with us. We are trying to stop the gang outbreaks across the nation and I need a strong team to help me. Are you up for it? My names Lucas by the way." Lucas asked, really wanting the grass type on his team.

"I'm not that strong, but I'd love to do what I can." She opened the bud on the top of her head as a response. Lucas tapped the pokeball on her head and she vanished inside, but he instantly released her again.

"Ok Beth, so you've already met Charlie, but here is Kurt. He only attacked you because a lot of the Pokemon around here are dangerous and we aren't taking any risks. This is Sarah, she's very strong and will help you whenever you need it. And this here is-"

"Billy, nice t' meetcha, missus." Billy stalked over to Beth and bowed his head. Lucas chuckled, as Billy's intentions were clear. Beth didn't reciprocate however, and he bowed his head again, sulking this time.

"I would be careful around here though, Lucas. There are trainers nearby and they won't let you past them unless you can defeat them in a spar." Beth warned.

"Thanks Beth, I'll keep that in mind." Lucas said gratefully. "I'll only keep a couple of you out of your pokeballs so we don't attract too much attention. How about Charlie and Beth? We can show you the ropes that way." Lucas returned everyone else apart from the fire-grass duo. Beth led the three of them down the path, meanwhile Lucas took in his surroundings. The southern part of the route was slightly damaged from the fire that ravaged Jubilife, but it seems to have been put out before much damage could be done. On his right was a small pond filled with Magikarp and Goldeen, which lay next to a patch of grass thriving with all sorts of Pokemon, including Budew. He could see a cave ahead of him, and some more of the route above of that. He remembered the professor saying he had to go through a cave to get to Oreburgh, but he was sure that the cave was to the east of Jubilife. It wouldn't hurt to check it out though. It then clicked that he hadn't actually told Beth where they were going, and she was just leading the way to wherever. "Beth, do you think you could lead us over to that cave?"

"The Ravaged Path? Are you sure?" Beth asked, worried slightly.

"Yeah! There could be some rare Pokemon or something in there? If you don't feel comfortable going there it's fine, we don't have to." Lucas wanted to make sure she was comfortable being part of this team.

"No, I can handle myself just fine, Lucas. Thank you for your concern, though." Beth grinned, which relaxed Lucas.

"It's fine, Beth. I just don't want to put you in a situation you aren't fine with."

"Lucas?" Charlie piped up. "I think I just saw a group of people with a G on their shirts go in that cave. You know the same one on that aeroplane we saw."

"Really? We better look into it!" Lucas was nervous. If this group had started that massive fire in Jubilife they were probably dangerous, but he at least wanted to investigate. He told Looker he'd contact him if he saw anything suspicious, but it might not even be them.

{}

"Dammit!" Lucas was fractionally late. As he arrived in the Ravaged Path, he saw the ceiling cave in, and a glimpse of some grey and green behind the falling rock. The trainers wouldn't let him past as Beth had said, but he got through them quickly.

"Lucas! Give me a hand!" Charlie urged. He was trying to pull a rock out of the bottom of the pile.

"Charlie, you won't be able to move all of them by yourse- wait! Is that a _Pokemon_?!" Lucas ran over and helped him pull the moving rock from beneath the rubble. They finally dragged it out from the bottom of the pile, exhausted.

"You appear to be a Geodude. Are you alright?" Beth asked politely.

"I'm awright thanks. Cheers for the 'elp." The small rock said. "Name's Geoff." He held his hand out to Lucas who grabbed it and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Geoff. I'm Lucas, and this is Charlie and Beth." He indicated to the two Pokemon at his side. "I assume you live in here. Did you see what happened?"

"Yeah, these mugs in grey with green hair just charged through and blew the cave up. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time I spose. That caused this 'ere dent." He pointed to the dent on his back.

"Goodness! Are you OK?" Beth was obviously very worried for him.

"Yeah, it's nuttin'. It'll go back to normal soon, 'appens all the time." He brushed it off. "Anyway, shall I show you out?"

"Yes please!" Beth and Charlie said at once. They followed Geoff out, who told them that he had lived in the cave for the most part of his life. Lucas had seen pictures of Geodude at Rowan's lab but was surprised however that they could float; Geoff told him it was due to the weak magnetic force inside their cores.

{}

"There you go! He's all fixed up!" Nurse Joy handed Lucas Geoff's pokeball. He had insisted on wanting to join Lucas as a means to get back at whoever it was that blew up the cave. Looker had said that the criminals were most likely Team Galactic but couldn't be certain.

"Thank you, do you know which way it is to Oreburgh by the way?" Lucas asked as he returned Geoff's pokeball to his belt. He only had Sarah out with him as he prepared to leave the Pokemon Centre.

"Sure, it's the third last right before Route 204, just ask one of the locals for help if you get lost. I'm sure they'll be happy to help after you saved the city!" She thanked him as she gave her directions. Lucas followed her instructions and was given an old fishing rod by a man who was very grateful for all he'd done. As he descended a flight of steps that would take him out of the city he was knocked down by some force behind him. As he recovered he saw that it was no other than Barry.

"You again! That's it, nobody hurts my trainer! _Nobody_!" Sarah squawked at the blonde in front of her.

"It's fine Sarah, don't worry!" Lucas told her, but she wasn't backing down.

"Bring it bluebeak, or are you too scared?" She taunted.

"That's it! Stanley, take her down!" Barry released his own Starly who charged at Sarah, but he was soon knocked on the floor unconscious under Geoff's body.

"Thanks, Geoff." Sarah said, out of breath. However, she quickly prepared herself for Perry's attacks, breaking the stream of water that he launched at Geoff. She then smashed her wing into him, prompting Barry to return him to his pokeball.

"Well done guys!" Lucas said as he hugged his Pokemon. "That was brilliant!"

"Ugh, _useless_!" Barry said disgustedly as he shook his head at his pokeballs. "See ya, loverboy!" He taunted as he wandered off to Oreburgh. Lucas just laughed. He was going to find Dawn, and nobody, especially not Barry was going to stop him!

AUTHORS NOTE:

Yay! Budew _and_ Geodude! I love both of these mons so I feel myself very lucky!

BTW, sorry about the sincere lack of updates, I've started A Levels and they have consumed my life but I will update as often as I can!

 _Unfortunately, I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is owned by GameFreak_


	7. Chapter 7: The Bodies and the Miner

_POKEMON: 8 DEATHS: 0_

"So…"

"Many…"

"Zubat…!"

Lucas, Billy and Beth fell into a pile on the hard floor.

"What even was that place?" Billy coughed. He had come out of his pokeball to protect Beth when the swarm of blind creatures bombarded them.

"Oreburgh Gate." Lucas spat out a dust cloud. "That's the only way we can get here from Jubilife without a major detour. And there's some gang activity here apparently, that's why loads of people are hiding out in that cave." He got up off the ground and brushed the dirt off of his clothes.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Lucas looked around and couldn't find the source of the voice. "Over here." To his right was a stone building with a hole in the side for a window; an old lady was hiding behind the gap as she spoke to Lucas.

"Hey there, missus. What's the trouble?" Billy asked in his usual peppy way.

"Shhhh! Keep it down." She disappeared from the window as she held a finger to her lips. Beth was about to ask Lucas if they could see if this mysterious lady was OK when she reappeared at the side of her house. "Come in, quick." Lucas looked from the Beth to Billy to the lady before following her.

"Lucas, are you sure she's safe?" Beth enquired.

"Only one way to find out." He said as he brushed the material door aside. Inside the small stone building was a table, two chairs, a sink, toilet and two beds. There was minimal food on top of the table, which told Lucas that if this home was just an example of the others in the city, Oreburgh's circumstances were the same as Sandgem and Twinleaf. Lucas saw how much Jubilife had over everywhere else, and began to wonder why they wouldn't share. A shrivelled old man on one of the beds drew Lucas' attention back to the room, he looked very ill and had his eyes closed.

"Is he OK?" Beth asked. The old lady was silent. She opened the bud on top of her head and rested it on the man's arm, he began to glow until she removed her bud again, panting.

"What did you do?" Lucas was amazed, he hadn't seen anything like that before.

"Pokemon have insanely fast natural healing, and we Budew can share that through our buds. I thought I'd just help him." She said nonchalantly. "But if you want us to help you we need to know what's happened." She said as she turned to the old woman. Lucas thought he saw her begin to cry.

"Yeah, why's we gotta be quiet?"

"Because of," She looked out the window before finishing "Roark."

"What's Roark?" Lucas asked.

"Who." She corrected him. "He is the head miner in the city, but recently he turned corrupt. Nobody's been allowed to enter or leave the city without his permission, and all his goons patrol regularly. One of them catches you and you're in trouble. We aren't sure why he became like this but it's been bad. Our food is rationed along with everything else. Worst of all, they took our…" She looked at the floor as she began to cry.

"Took your what?" Lucas pushed.

"Our Pokemon." She broke down as she sat on her bed. "We had a Budew, Buddy, and he kept John healthy. They took him from us, as well as our Psyduck." She cried into Lucas' shoulder. He sat there and tried to soothe her, Beth and Billy just sat silently. She sat up and composed herself and, through tears, continued. "The reason we can't go outside is because Roark is scared somebody will come in and one of us will do exactly what I have with you, protect you. Most of the surrounding settlements either are in a similar situation or just don't care, such as Jubilife, so nobody has come to help." She turned to Lucas and clenched his hands. "I need something from you."

"Anything." He said, a bit uncertain but helping her may help the rest of the city, and somebody may be able to help him find Dawn.

"Help. Not just me, not just John. All of us. We are one of the many in the city, and somebody needs to take Roark down. I beg of you." Lucas just nodded.

"Beth. Billy. Let's go." He said as he began to leave, stopping at the last minute. "I didn't catch your name."

"Wylda."

"Wylda. I will do all I can." He said as he pushed the curtain door aside and stepped into the city. This was his first proper look, as he was just taken into Wylda's house upon arrival. The floor wasn't paved, but there was a distinct path for him to use. Lining this road was a series of buildings similar to Wylda's house, as he passed them he saw people spying out at him, scared of this new stranger. As he continued on he reached a Pokemon centre. The old one at least. It was damaged. A lot. He kicked the door in and walked inside.

All he saw was red. The trademark red of the Pokemon centre that had faded over time was covering the walls was common, but what was even more common was blood. The blood that was bathing the bodies.

"What happened..?" Billy thought aloud as they stood, staring in shock at the massacre in front of them.

"I don't want you seeing this, get back in to your pokeballs!" Lucas ordered as he produced Beth's and Billy's pokeballs.

"No, Lucas. Something happened, I want to sort it out. Billy feels the same, right?" Beth turned to the beaver, he nodded. "Please?" Lucas sighed and returned the pokeballs to his pocket. "…How long do you think they've been here?"

"Based on the smell, a couple of months." Lucas walked back over to Beth hoping the aroma from her bud would help. "The blood's completely dry too, but that doesn't really give us any indication other than longer than one day." As they searched he stopped dead in his tracks. On the floor was a white and pink beanie; the one Dawn always wore. It was drenched in _something_ but Lucas couldn't tell. It wasn't the blood for sure, but it stunk even worse than the bodies. He looked around frantically but she wasn't amongst the dead, a sigh of relief soon followed. _She's been here. She may still be. I have to find her whilst I have the chance._

"Did you hear that?" Lucas stuffed the hat into his bag, he'd check it out later. Billy was looking up the escalator. It, like every other one Lucas had seen on his travels including those at Jubilife, wasn't working. Lucas and Beth walked over to where Billy was stood. "There. Did you hear it?" Billy asked again.

"Yeah. Keep it quiet." Lucas reminded him. He couldn't be sure who was up those stairs, but was certain it was dangerous. They may have caused the chaos that surrounded him, and he was adamant they would pay. _Dawn could be up there too._ He thought to himself, almost certain she wasn't. Another reason to investigate. "Ok, let's go." He began to walk up the still escalator, but was pulled back by Billy.

"Are you sure? We don't know what's up there." Billy looked surprisingly sheepish.

"Adamant. Dawn could be up there." Lucas replied as he proceeded up again.

Beth held back for a couple of seconds, turning to Billy. "Who's Dawn?"

"I'll get Charlie or Sarah to explain later, I don't know as much as them two. Simply put though, she's his best friend and he's looking for her as she ran off from their village." Billy was curious too. He hardly knew his trainer, but he trusted him greatly.

"Oh." Beth replied simply as they walked up the stairs in silence. When they emerged at the top there were three doors. All were sealed.

"One of them has to have these goons in." Lucas spat as he kept his voice low, walking to the first door which he proceeded to kick down. "Empty. Damn." He continued round to the next one which provided the same result. "Last room. Typical." Before he could even get to the door it disappeared. In front of them stood 4 men, suited in miner's wear. They must be here on some duty from Roark. Behind them stood a huge rock snake and in front were some Machop and Geodude. Billy stood in front of Beth protectively, but she braced herself for a fight anyway.

"Who are you?" Lucas demanded.

One of the miners laughed. "Who are we? Who are you is probably the correct question. This is our city after all."

"Your city which you don't have the right to shut in to lockdown because it suits your needs? Your city which has hundreds of starving, terrified citizens? Your city which is being ruled under an iron fist? Which one of those is it? I would just love to know." Lucas taunted. He didn't want the whole city to know he was here so beating these punks was his only option. Otherwise they might just set all of their cohorts on him.

"Roight, I've 'ad it. Get em, Gregory." The shortest man had a Geodude at his feet which leapt at Lucas. He covered his eyes, not wanting to see the impact that never happened. He removed his arm to see Gregory under a Bibarel that had appeared out of nowhere. Was it Robert? Then he realised he couldn't see Billy. Unless…

"Billy?" Lucas asked at the beaver who just nodded as he shot a blast of water in Gregory's face. Gregory literally smashed upon impact to the wall. Water type moves would be useful against these rocks.

The rest of the miners' Pokemon charged forward, but once Sarah was there to help they took them down no problem.

{}

"Now tell us. What happened?" Lucas spat in these villains' faces. They found some mining equipment in the back which included rope. Useful for tying the unconscious miners up.

"Roark made us. He makes us do this all the time. Please, don't hurt us. We'll leave the city. You'll never see us again." They cowered. Now they knew Lucas could easily overpower them they were terrified of him.

"What do you mean, he _made_ you?"

"He threatened to kill our Pokemon if we disobeyed him."

"He's gone crazy."

"You need to stop him." Their pleas were real. Lucas wanted to know one more thing.

"Why? Why did you have to kill them? And how?"

They all exchanged looks. "They were a group of travellers, Roark didn't want to risk them being here and telling the outside world of what happens here. We used Olly to kill them, my Onix." The grown man in front of Lucas began to cry. "I don't know why I agreed, I-I co-I could have just let them go. They weren't hurting anyone."

"But you didn't! They have families who will never see them again now because of you." Beth scolded the men, they hung their heads in shame.

"Was this girl amongst them?" Lucas showed them a picture of Dawn, bracing himself for bad news.

"Yeah, she escaped actually. Her Turtwig knocked Olly down when he attacked. She got a young girl out too. We let them leave the city on the promise they never return."

"Do you know where she is now?" Lucas knew this information was vital to finding Dawn. He would get all the information he could out of them.

"No, this was a couple of months ago so she could be anywhere by now. She left through the Oreburgh gate though so that may narrow it down. Ask in Jubilife." Lucas felt foolish for not asking around about Dawn in Jubilife, not much anyway. The fire was taking up all his time when he was there.

"So why ya been here coupla months?" Billy asked what they were all thinking.

"Well, Roark thought we was killed in the incident too. There were loads o' food in the back room up here so we've camped out, hoping not to get caught." The men looked sheepish but Lucas couldn't blame them. Roark sounded crazy.

"Ok. Where do we find this Roark? I will make him pay." Lucas was angry suddenly. What this _miner_ of all things had done was dreadful and he wasn't going to let them get away with it.

"In the mine. You'll have to beat his goons to get to him but he will challenge you upon sight." This warning was severe. Lucas didn't care. What this man was doing was wrong.

{}

"Where are they?" Lucas pinned the man against the wall. He had evolved when protecting Billy from a Machop's karate chop. He now had a blue crest on his forehead and a collar of white fur. His flame was now on the end of a long tail which he held in the man's face.

"W-where's what?" He pushed himself further into the wall, away from Charlie.

"Charlie, just a bit off the top." Lucas taunted.

"You got it boss." Charlie moved his tail closer to the man. Lucas guessed him to be another of the miners.

"Stop, ok ok." Charlie removed his tail from the man's face.

"Er, Lucas. Hurry." Billy rushed him, the unconscious Geodude he was sat on top was waking again.

"They're in there." The man pointed to a door. Lucas wasn't stupid and held his hand out for the keys which he soon found to be in his possession.

"Thanks. We'll be off now." Lucas left the man as he fell to the floor and unlocked the door. It took a lot of force but he got it open. There were pokeballs lining the walls. He would need some help to get these out. "Ok guys, give me a hand." Billy and Charlie took as many pokeballs as they could out of the mine, nobody trying to stop them on the way. Lucas also got Kurt and Geoff to help. Soon all the Pokemon were outside and on the way home to their trainers. Beth noticed a Psyduck and Budew walking in the direction of Wylda and John's house.

"Are you by any chance John and Wylda's?" Beth enquired. The two Pokemon turned around, looking at Beth confused.

"Yes, and you are?" The Budew was as formal as Beth, probably a species thing Lucas thought.

"I'm Beth. Lucas is my trainer, the one who got you out. I want you to know that Wylda and John are both alive, not all that healthy for John, but they've missed you." Beth said nonchalantly as she walked off.

"Beth. Thank you." The two Pokemon continued walking off to Wylda.

"Ok, let's go kick this bastard's ass." Beth shouted. Lucas had never heard her swear. As a matter of fact nobody else had. Lucas liked this attitude.

{}

"How did you get down here?" A man with red hair in an equally red hat stood at the other side of the huge cavern. How this hadn't collapsed on him Lucas didn't know. The red reminded him of the Pokemon centre, both elements of it.

"You must be Roark. Correct?" Lucas ignored him. Roark clearly was expecting him as he stood with pokeball in hand. Just like the men in the Pokemon centre had told him.

"And you Lucas? What is it you want here?" Roark had sources scattered around the mine so Lucas wasn't fazed he knew his name.

"You to lose your crazy satanic hold over the city. I'll make you a deal. You win, I leave the city. I win, you return the city to the democracy it should be. Fair?" Lucas knew he couldn't refuse this offer if he wanted to maintain his dignity.

"Fine. You're on. Garrison." He threw his first pokeball into the air and a Geodude hovered in the air.

"Billy. Let's go." The Bibarel stood opposite the floating rock in front of it. "Water gun!" Lucas exclaimed. The jet of water hit Garrison in the face (which was subsequently his body) and knocked him out upon impact.

"You can do it!" Beth cheered. Billy blushed.

"Octavia! Now!" An Onix appeared in the room, only just small enough to avoid destroying the ceiling. The Onix swung it's tail down in an attempt to crush Billy, but he used water gun to push himself out of the way, the jet then bombarded into Octavia's tail. "Octavia, lean to the left!" She fell unconscious and slammed to the floor, crushing Billy with her. Roark returned Octavia, revealing Billy's carcass.

Beth let out a sob, but Lucas just stood in silence at the sight of it. He felt a tear drop down his face and onto the floor. He had seen all that death just hours ago in the Pokemon centre, but he wasn't attached to any of that. But Billy, he had grown so much in such a short space of time. He knew that Roark had told Octavia to lean to the left so that exact thing would happen.

"Are you gonna carry on, or are you too pathetic?" Roark tormented. Lucas looked up, realising he was sat on the floor, Charlie was walking forward to a bipedal Pokemon with a large blue head. Beth just leant against Lucas. She was very close to Billy, this was too much for her. She didn't move as Lucas stood up, brushed the dirt off of his clothes and stared Roark in the eyes. "My Craig will not be defeated. He is one of the strongest Cranidos there is."

"You. Will. Pay." Lucas snarled. He wiped the tears of his cheeks as he gave his next order. "CHARLIE, MACH PUNCH!" Charlie's fist impacted with Craig's shining skull. He flew into Roark and the two of them fell to the floor. He let out a grunt and Lucas was sure they were both unconscious. He didn't care.

"I'm sorry, Lucas." Charlie stood over Billy's body. All that was really still intact was a portion of his buck teeth. Lucas shoved it in his pocket.

"It's not your fault. It's his." He spat as he looked at Roark. "Can you just, get rid of his body somehow, I don't want to see this any longer." Charlie nodded and put his tail to Billy's body, which soon disappeared.

Lucas stood over Roark and Craig. "Ok, I won. Do what you promised." Roark nodded slightly and fell unconscious again. Lucas saw a badge on Roark's shirt and decided to take it. He hadn't seen another one like it and it would probably be some form of proof that he'd beaten Roark. He pinned it to his bag and walked out, Billy's tooth in his pocket.

{}

"Glad to have been of help!" Lucas put on a fake smile as he entered the Zubat filled cave; John and Wylda waving him goodbye. He may have fulfilled his promise to everyone in the village, but he had failed Billy. He had told him that he would one day be a strong soldier, and he'd let him die so innocently. He ought to stop scolding himself but knew he couldn't. _I couldn't have done anything. I couldn't have done anything._ He repeated this to himself foolishly thinking it would help him, knowing deep down that it wouldn't.

"I will avenge him." Lucas said to nobody in particular, only the echo could hear him anyway.

AUTHORS NOTE:

OK OK OK OK OK!

I know I haven't uploaded in what feels like a millennia but all my school work has consumed my life. I now have so many more free periods so will have more time to write and upload so don't worry! More of this will be on it's way.

I caught a Shinx on route 204 and a Ponyta on route 207 by the way.

 _Unfortunately, I do not own Pokemon. Pokemon is owned by GameFreak_


End file.
